Europe

We visit Amsterdam and Trier, Germany.

Our first day in Amsterdam. Walking towards WesterparkThere was an area of cute little bungalow next to the park




This may be the smallest car I've ever seen


A cool automatic restaurantHouseboats


At the central railroad, there was a piano you could play.Peter gave it a try


There was a parkour exhibit north of the cityOn the ferry




At a climbing wall close to our hotel in AmsterdamEric had an angry rash on his neck, that he picked up in Africa. We tried to get antibiotic lotion for it in Amsterdam, but nothing is available OTC. We later learned from Melissa that it probably came from the Nairobi Fly, which is a strange insect that, when crushed on your skin, releases an acid that causes this kind of rash.


Crazy luck - just outside of our hotel in Amsterdam (Amsterdam Teleport Hotel, okay but we won't go there again) Peter found a 5 Euro bill, and Kenny found a 20 Euro billPlayground at Vondelpark




I love the wading pools they have in Europe.


Amsterdam is VERY crowded this time of year


A few pictures from the Rijksmuseum




Nice dock next to the library, which was unfortunately closed for remodeling. They gave us apples to make up for it.The line for the Anne Frank museum. We skipped it.


In Trier - we stayed at the Ibis Styles, which was really nice and very centralIn the background is the Roman bridge, from the second century AD


The old Roman baths




They were repairnig the cobblestone pavement in the old town, and transported the stones there in these bags


At the Porta Nigra - Roman gate




Good view from the top


There are many more bookstores here than back in the US. I guess Amazon hasn't made as many inroads in the book market


The cathedralGarden next to the cathedral


The Basilika - built in 310 as a throne hall by Constantine. Now an evangelical church.


A baroque palace right next to the basilika




At the main Roman imperial baths


There were lots of school groups thereWe played hide and seek in the subterranean passages. It was nice and cool out of the sun






At the open-air museum Roscheider Hof, not far from Trier. It was huge area, with a mixed up jumble of all kinds of artifacts, almost nobody there except usThere was no attempt to only show a few of any particular item, I think they just showed everything they had. I found it more interesting that way. This was a very small part of the tin soldier display


Old bathtubs


I don't know how this worked, but it was called a Sparautomat -automatic saving machine. Kind of like an early ATM?"Eigner Herd ist Goldes Wert". Translation - having your own hearth (i.e. home) is worth a great deal


Peter had fun nibbling some wheat from this fieldIn Germany, some POWs worked at farms instead of being in POW camps


Miele started out not with washing machines, but with butter churns.


At the potato themed restaurant we went to a few timesThe kids played soccer in Trier. I told Peter how to say "Can I play too" in German


Unfortunately there was a muddy part of the fieldWe took a walk along the Roman path near Butzweiler, close to Burg Ramstein


Happy hikers


I couldn't figure out what this was. Maybe some kind of insect trap?


At the old Roman copper mine, which became a quarry


Burg Ramstein


Peter made friends with this goat at the Waldstation


This old hotel that Kelly mentioned is now out of business. There's a sign that says it's being renovated, but it just looks abandoned. Good views, though




There was a political fair just outside our hotelKarl Marx was born in Trier. It looks like Marx is still a common name in the area


Views from the riverboat tour




At the pizza restaurant, Peter watched the pizza makers so long that that they ended up giving him a chunk of dough that he could make a pizza base with


We took a day trip to Luxembourg. The parking garage had parking places specifically for women.My favorite part of Luxembourg was walking around the old city walls




Kenny has one of his many fidget spinners. This is along the Wenzel walk




Walkway over the edge of the cliff




Interesting bench








We found a plum tree!




At the museum in Luxembourg


An old Roman mosaic floor


The Bock in Luxembourg








Kenny found a tiny little baby lizard


Back in Amsterdam - I like the gravel yard in this house




Houses across from our hotel